Memoirs of a Gigolo Volume Six by Livia Ellis

Author:Livia Ellis
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2013-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Outing with mum – British Museum

Mum arrives in the van that I hire to take her on outings as often as possible. I think we both find these outings a bit contrived, but we enjoy them just the same. We’re getting along. If it takes her dying for us to come to a place where we get along, then I guess that’s what it takes.

The British Museum is her idea. She wants to see the Elgin Marbles.

One of our great and shining moments as the pirates of the world. The shameless theft of the Elgin Marbles. Nothing makes me more proud to be British than the Elgin Marbles. Our history of plundering artifacts is our national shame (one of them at least). If I could return them to the Greeks myself, by god I would.

Here we are. Me. Mum. Aunt Lucy. Pretending to look at pilfered Greek treasures when really we’re people watching and making bitchy observations. We’re considering turning this into a regular outing. Mum makes me take pictures with my smartphone of particularly interesting specimens. She’s considering starting a blog. Observations of a woman knocking on heaven’s door. I love this idea. I’m on board. We name our nebulous blog Evil Mummy and her Bitchy Boy. I’m having a marvelous time.

As we sit observing, I notice someone just as she notices me. Dr. Gita Premji. Instead of pretending she doesn’t see me, she smiles and comes for our trio. With a man. An older man. Petite. Soberly dressed. He must be Gita’s father. He has to be. They have the same eyes.

That’s Sanjay Premji. Mum grabs my arm. The one who wrote all those books.

Gita arrives from across the hall and I rise to greet her. I introduce her as my friend.

She nods and smiles. Friends works for her too. We could be friends. Lovers no. Friends yes.

She knows my mother is unwell. I told her this in the hour I had to charm her. She is kind to my mother. She introduces her father.

The famous Dr. Sanjay Premji. The one who wrote all those books.

He takes my mother’s hand between two of her own as he gets down to her level.

It is easy to see that in his heart and soul, he is a doctor that wanted to help as many people as possible and not a charlatan out to sell books.

My mother tells him that his books have been a great comfort to her. She tells him about her illness. They discuss it in technical terms I’ve never wanted to understand. For me mum’s dying. That’s all I really want to know about the medical side of it. More information is not going to make me feel better. It might just scare the shit out of me.

Would we like to have tea? Gita suggests we all go for tea.

Mum and Aunt Lucy are in and so am I.

Gita seems like she’d be an excellent friend. The sort that doesn’t judge a person’s worth based on external criteria.

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